Welcome to the Heart Gold and Soul Silver Thread! ^_^ This is to replace the official thread previously owned by Toast-kun that he deleted for personal reasons. Feel free to discuss the games in all their Gold and Silvery glory.

Note: Toast-kun has since come by and endorsed this new thread. Huzzah! 8D Let's talk about our Pokeymanz, k gaiz? :'D

8-12-11--GameStop stores and the GameStop website will have Pre-Owned (a.k.a. Used) versions of HGSS on sale for $24.99 from now until August 18th, 2011. This is $10 less than the usual pre-owned price ($34.99) and $15 less than the new price ($39.99). If you never tried out HGSS before now, want to try the other version you didn't play, or just want to snag an extra copy without over-stretching your money, this is the perfect opportunity to scoop one up for less!
Also dropping in price today is the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo's next-gen handheld. It's dropping from $249.99 to an astonishing $169.99! If you didn't get one before, it's now much more affordable (it's even cheaper than the DSi XL, unless that drops soon too), and if you did get it before now, you have 20 free downloads from the eShop to anticipate thanks to Nintendo's Ambassador plan. Either way, it's a good time to be (or become) a 3DS owner!

DO NOT COME IN AND ASK FOR BATTLES AND TRADES. This is a discussion thread. If you'd like a battle/trade, stick around, chat for a while, and then ask in passing. 3noddingWARNING

Be courteous to everyone WARNING OR BAN (dependent upon the circumstances)

Do not flame Pokemon, plz. Be more mature than that. BAN

DO NOT QUOTE THE FIRST POST OR ANY OF THE FIRST PAGE POSTS. Doing so is just...just...stupid. Just--don't do it. BAN

Do not bash the games HG/SS UNLESS YOU HAVE A DECENT ARGUMENT AND ARE WILLING TO PRESENT IT. "These games are going to suck" and "These games suck because Pokemon is for kids", etc. are not acceptable. WARNING

NO SPAM. Spam is a disgusting meat that should not exist, and I don't want it in my forum. >( Oh, wait...you mean the online kind of spam? Er...

DO NOT SPAM. This includes trolling, quoting the first post, posting mass smileys (even if you include a relevant message first), bumping, and anything else that does not relate to the topic at hand and/or looks like spam. PERMA-BAN (as in no option to come back, do not pass go, do not collect $200)

I'm okay with double-posting every now and again, but please, try not to triple or any more than that post. If you need to add an extra thought and no one has posted after you, edit your last post. This includes bumping, which this thread does not need, anyway. In other words, DO NOT BUMP.WARNING

Do not insult Quagsire. Just don't. Quagsire is adorable and the best. MULTI-PARAGRAPH RANT FROM SAKURA ABOUT HOW QUAGSIRE IS THE BEST (xd)

Depending on the rule infraction, you may be either warned or banned. I'm usually pretty lenient and will let someone off with a warning, but if I deem the infraction bad enough, you will be banned.

Warnings can be lifted if you have been good for at least 2 weeks, but only if I deem it so. Two warnings, and you're banned. Bans might be lifted if you're courteous to me and can prove that you will no longer be an idiot and break the rules. But it must be at least 3 weeks after the occurrence that resulted in the ban.

Maeve is campaigning for a Pokemon subforum, and the HGSS thread fully supports her in this effort. Go show your support in her Site Feedback thread.

In celebration of HGSS's first Threadaversary, Sakura will be doing a Pokemon giveaway every day this week! But the only way to earn a prize is to stick around and post, post, post! Giveaway starts Monday, and here are the prizes: This contest has since ended, but I'll be leaving the format up for it for now.

So I was lying in bed, dwelling on the rules for the giveaway, and I think I've come up with a way to make it totally fair and unbiased.

Being active in the thread during the day is still important; if you haven't posted X amount of posts (a number of which I will determine but not announce), then you're ineligible for that day's prize. So, for example, if someone shows up only at the appointed time for the prize distribution and hasn't posted earlier in the day, then they wouldn't be allowed to participate. I will, however, take into account that some of our regulars are in different timezones and might be sleeping. xd

At 9 PM Central Time (-6 GMT), everyone who's in the thread who's been active during the day will roll a 20-sided dice as a Post Action. Prior to this, I'll pick a number between 1 and 20, and post it. Whoever gets that number wins. In the event of a tie, however many are in the tiebreaker will roll again by the same principle, but with a 6-sided die.

Also, I think I will go ahead and restrict the giveaway to regulars only, but to regulars of present and past. I have a pretty good memory of who's been here and was active in the past.

The same thought process from the other rules apply; if you win in between Mon-Fri, you can only win on that day, but everyone's allowed back in for the Grand Prize Manaphy on Saturday.

This way, no one can say I picked favorites, or I didn't pick them because I don't like them, etc. It'll be up to the ol' RNG to decide who wins. Cold, unbiased, and fair.

Savvy?

So, to sumarize:
--Post during the day
--At appointed time, all active users in the thread at the time will roll
--Person who gets the number Sakura picked wins
--Only allowed to win 1 prize Mon-Fri, everyone back in on Sat
--Open to Thread Regulars of past and present

Also:
--Posting nonsense to bolster your post count for the day will not count and might disqualify you for the day; try to have a meaningful conversation, okay?

There are lots of new features in the HG/SS games that are not only different from the original GS release but also new the Pokemon series as a whole. Let's take a look at some of them.

The PokeWalker
This little Pokeball-shaped device allows you to transfer Pokemon from your HGSS game and carry them around with you! As you walk, you accumulate points (much like the Pokemon Pikachu and Pokemon Pikachu 2 giga pets of long ago), and your Pokemon gains levels and happiness. You can also using the Item Finder to search for items in your real world locations. There's also a Wi-Fi event planned, like the Yellow Forest where you can catch lots and lots of Pikachu. One of the Pikachu is rumored to have a special move! This move is Fly.

The release of the English boxart confirmed that the PokeWalker will be released in the United States (as well as other English-speaking countries, I'm sure). Wi-Fi events haven't currently been announced, but as we approach launch date, I'm sure they'll pop up.

Touch Screen Menus
Everything from the Pokedex, Boxes, Pokegear, and Items is controlled via the touch screen. You can, however, hit X to navigate them with the D-Pad if you so desire.

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All 493 Pokemon Follow Behind You
One of the things first revealed about Heart Gold and Soul Silver was the ability of Pokemon to follow behind you (a la Pokemon Yellow). It wasn't until later that it was revealed that all 493 Pokemon can follow behind you (that includes legendaries). When you talk to these Pokemon, they'll give a speech bubble to show their mood, and they'll even pick up items for you. ^_^ The Pokemon that follows you is the first Pokemon in your party, and this feature cannot be turned off.

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Apricorns are back
Apricorns and the Pokeballs you could make from them were a big part in GSC, and they have returned in HGSS. All the Pokeballs are back, as well as the Ball Maker Kurt in Azalea Town. New, however, is the Apricorn Case, a portable case in which you can grow your Apricorns (and Berries!) on the fly. Apricorns can also be squeezed into a drink that affect a Pokemon's stats for the Pokethlon. Speaking of which...

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The Pokethlon
The Pokethlon is a series of mini-games you play using the touch screen. They involve racing as well as many other touch-based mini-games, including what looks like a snowball fight.